123: London Bridge

SE1 9BG​TUBE: LONDON BRIDGE

London Bridge has had several incarnations over the course of the hundreds of years of its existence. The old London Bridge was completed in 1209 and was so expensive, that building plots were organised in order to try and recoup some of the money spent. The bridge thus resembled the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, with hundreds of buildings and a church lining its span. At the entrance gate to the bridge, the heads of traitors recently executed were displayed on spikes to deter would-be future criminals. The bridge became famously decrepit and inspired the nursery rhyme 'London Bridge is falling down' in the 18th century. The old bridge was replaced in 1831 by a new design and became the busiest bridge in London. So busy in fact, that it started sinking and had to be replaced again. The bridge was famously sold to an American and reconstructed piece by piece in Arizona. The current London Bridge opened in 1973.